Railway braking apparatus



Jan. 1938 H. c. CLAUSEN 2,

' RAILWAY BRAKING APPARATUS Original Filed June 16, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

INVENTOR HaroldC LlflZ.

[[1,5' ATTORNEY Jan. 4, 1938 H. c. CLAUS'EN 2,104,186

7 RAILWAY BRAKING APPARATUS Original Filed June 16, 1956 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 4, 1938 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE The Union Switch &

Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original. application June 16, 1936,. Serial No. 85,506. Divided: and this application April 14, 1937, Serial No. 136,866

6 Claims.

My invention relates to railway braking apparatus, and particularly to that class of railway braking apparatus known as car retarders. More particularly, my present invention relates to car 5. retarders of the type in which the braking bars exert a fixed amount of retardation on all cars passing through the retarder.

One object of my invention is to provide a car retarder oi the type described in which the couple 10 caused by the forces which urge the braking bars into engagement with the wheels of cars which are being retarded, and the reaction of the wheels against the braking bars, is counteracted by a structure which'is secured to the braking bars.

Other objects of my invention will appear as the description proceeds. I

The present application is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 85,506, filed on June 16, 1936 for Railway braking .apparatus.

I shall describe one form of car retarders embodying my invention, and shall then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing one form of car 25 'retarder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a I top plan view of the retarder shown in Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character I designates one track rail of a stretch of railway track, which track rail is mounted. on rail supports 2 secured to the usual crossties 3, only one rail support and one crosstie being shown in the drawings. Extending parallel to the rail I on opposite sides of the rail are two braking bars A! and A each comprising a brake shoe 4 secured to a brake beam 5. The brake shoes and brake beams may have any desired cross sectional shape possessing the necessary strength and rigidity, but as here shown the brake shoes are L-shaped in cross section, while the-brake beams are H-shaped in. cross section. 2

The braking bars are slidably supported for movement toward. and away from. the rail I by means of a pair -of eyebolts 40- which extend with clearance through holes 8 provided inthe web of the rail I, and through holes 9 provided in the depending legs of'the brake beams of the braking bars. The threaded ends of the eyebolts 40- are secured to the brake beam 5 of the braking bar A by meansof nuts 40 while the eyes. of the eyebolts are mounted on the opposite ends of a pin M which extends horizontally through the rear portion of the cylinder 42 of a ably supported adjacent its rear end for movement toward and away from the rail I within a recess 43 which. is formed in a tie-plate 21 secured to the crosstie 3, and has reciprocably mounted therein a piston 44 which drives a piston 5 rod 45. The piston rod 45 extends through a cylinder head 46, and is secured at its free end to the brake beam 5 of the braking bar A by means of nuts 45 The piston 44 is constantly biased to a retracted position within the cylinder 42 by means of a compressed coil spring 41 which surrounds the piston rod between the piston 44 and the cylinder head 46, and the piston is arranged to be at times moved to a projected position, in opposition to the bias of the spring 41, by admitting fluid pressure to the cylinder 42 through an inlet pipe 48. It will be apparent that movement of the piston 44 within the cylinder 42 will act through the piston rod 45 and the eyebolts 40 to move the braking bars toward or away from each other, according as the piston is moved toward its projected position or its retracted position, and the partsare so proportioned that when the piston is. moved to its projected position, the braking bars will be moved toward each other to such positions that the spacing between the brake shoes will be less than the width of car wheels traversing rail I,, Whereas, when the piston is moved to its retracted position, the braking bars will be moved away from each other to such positions that the distance between the brake shoes will be greater than the width of car wheels traversing rail I. Surrounding the eyebolts 40 between the rail I and the brake beam 5 of the braking bar A are coil springs 49 which constantly bias the braking bar A toward the right to a position in which depending stop lugs 50 which are. provided on the brake beam engage stop screws 5| mounted in a bracket 52 secured to the crosstie 2. adjacent the outer side of the brake beam. 5 of the braking bar A The stop screws 5| each carry lock nuts 53, whereby the stop screws may be; locked in adjusted positions. The stop screws are so adjusted that when the braking bar A is engaging the stop screws 5|, the brake shoe 4 of this braking bar will be out of the path of car wheels traversing rail I, and that, when the braking bar A is engaging the stop screws 5I and the piston 44 of motor M occupies its retracted position, the brake shoe 4 of the braking bar A will occupy a position in which it is out of the path of car wheels traversing rail I. The recess 43 in which the cylinder 42 of motor M slides is of such length, and the parts are so proportioned that when the piston 44 occupies its 55 projected position, and the cylinder 42 is engaging the rear wall 43 of the recess 43, the braking bars A and A will then be held in the proper positions relative to the rail I to permit a smooth entry of the wheels of cars between the braking bars.

The operation of the portion of the retarder thus far described is as follows: When fluid is exhausted from the cylinder 42 of motor M, piston p ,44 is held in its retracted position by the spring 41, and the braking bars and motor assembly as a whole are moved toward the right by means of the springs 49 to the positions in which the stop lugs 50 engage the stop screws Under these conditions, due to the previously described proportioning of the parts, the brakeshoes of the braking bars are separated a distance which is greater than the width of the car wheels, and are so positioned with respect to the rail l that both braking bars will be out of the path of car wheels traversing rail I. It will be apparent, therefore, that when fluid is exhausted from motor M, the car retarder will not exert any braking force on cars passing through it. When, however, fluid is supplied to motor M, the braking bars A and A will then be moved toward each other by the relative movement of the piston 44 and cylinder 42 to the positions in which the spacing between the brake shoes 4 is less than the width of car wheels, and will be positioned relative to the rail I by engagement of the motor cylinder with the stop formed by the rear wall 43 of the recess 43 in the tie-plate 21 in which the motor cylinder slides, and under these conditions, if a car enters the retarder the wheels of the car will force the braking bars apart, which movement of the braking bars will compress the fluid in the motor cylinder, and will thus cause the braking bars to be held into frictional engagement with the car wheels by a biasing force which depends upon the pressure of the fluid in the motor. It fol-' lows, therefore, that when fluid is admitted to motor M, the retarder will act to retard the speed of cars passing through the retarder. When the braking bars of the retarder have been moved to their closed positions by admitting fluid to motor M, and it is desired to move them to their open positions, the fluid which was previously supplied to motor M is exhausted to atmosphere, whereupon the springs 41 and 49 will immediately act to restore the braking bars to their open or nonbraking positions.

With the retarder constructed in the manner thus far described, it will be apparent that due to the fact that the points at which the braking bars engage the car wheels are located some dis tance above the eyebolts 40, a couple of forces will be exerted on the braking bar A which will tend to rotate this braking bar in a counterclockwise direction, and a similar couple of forces will be exerted on the braking bar A which will tend to rotate this latter braking bar in a clockwise direction. These couples tend to bend the eyebolts 40, and are therefore undesirable, and in accordance with my present invention I provide suitable means for counteracting the turning forces caused by these couples. As here shown, these means comprise two similar U-shaped brackets 23, one of which is secured adjacent its open end to the brake beam 5 of the braking bar A by means of bolts 24 which pass through the one leg of the brake beam and through upstanding lugs 25, one of which is formed on each leg of the brackets; and the other of which brackets is secured adjacent its open end to the brake beam 5 of the braking bar A in the same manner that the first mentioned bracket is secured to the other brake beam. The outer portion of each bracket is slidably supported on a tie-plate 2'! secured to the associated tie 3, and the inner ends of the brackets are provided with offset portions 23 which extend underneath the base flanges of the rail l on opposite sides of the rail support 2.

With the bracket 23 secured to the braking bars in the manner just described, it will be obvious that when the brake shoes are engaging a car wheel, the couple or turning forces produced in the braking bars by the reaction of the wheels against the brake shoes 4 will 'be counteracted by engagement of the brackets with the tie-plates 21 and with the bottom of the rail, and as a result, any motion of the braking bars will be limited to a straight sliding motion toward and away from the rail. This is very desirable, not only because it prevents the eyebolts from becoming bent, but also because it reduces lost motion, which, in turn, increases the retardation which can be obtained from the retarder and reduces the amount of wear of the parts. 7

It should be noted that adjustments to compensate for wear of the brake shoe 4 of the brak ing bar A may be made by turning the nuts 45 which fasten the piston rod 45 to the brake beam 5 of this braking bar, while adjustments to com pensate for wear of the brake shoe 4 of the braking bar A may be made by turning the nuts 40 which fasten the eyebolts 40 to the brake beam 5 of this latter braking bar.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of railway braking apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. Railway braking apparatus comprising a first and a second braking bar each comprising a brake shoe secured to a brake beam and each extending parallel to a track rail on opposite sides of the rail, a bolt extending through clearance holes in both brake beams and a clearance hole in the rail web in such manner that the braking bars are slidably supported for movement toward and away from the rail by means of said bolt, means for adjustably securing said bolt to the one brake beam, a fluid pressure motor connected with said bolt and with the other brake beam and effective when supplied with fluid pressure for biasing the braking bars toward the track rail to positions inwhich the brake shoes will frictionally engage the opposite side faces of car wheels traversing said rail, and means for limiting the movement of said braking bars toward the track rail.

2. Railway braking apparatus comprising a first and a second brakingbar each comprising a brake shoe secured to a brake beam and each extending parallel to a track rail on opposite sides of the rail, a bolt extendingthrough clearance holes in both brake beams and a clearance hole in the rail web in such mannerthat the braking bars are slidably supported for move ment toward and away from the rail by means of said bolt, means for adjustablysecuring said bolt to the one brake beam, a fluid pressure motor connected with said.- bolt and with the other brake beam 'andefiective when supplied with fluid pressure for biasing the braking bars toward the track rail to positions in which the brake shoes will frictionally engage the oppo- 7 site side faces of car wheels traversing said rail,

means for limiting the movement of said braking bars toward the track rail, and a bracket secured to each braking bar for preventing the braking bars from tipping due to the couple of forces which are exerted on them when they are engaging car wheels, each said bracket being slidably supported at one end and being provided at the other end with means which slidably engage the underside of the track rail.

3. Railway biraking apparatus comprising a first and a second braking bar extending parallel to a track rail on opposite sides of the rail, two bolts extending with clearance through holes in each braking bar and aligned holes in the rail web in such manner that said braking bars are slidably supported by means of said bolts for movement toward and away from the rail, means for adjustably securing one end of each bolt to the one braking bar, a fluid pressure motor having a cylinder connected with the other end of each bolt, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder, and a piston rod connected at one end to said piston and adjustably secured at the other end to said second braking bar, the parts being so proportioned that movement of said piston from its retracted to a projected position will move said braking bars to positions in which they will frictionally engage the opposite side faces of each car wheel traversing the track rail.

4. Railway braking apparatus comprising a first and a second braking bar extending parallel to a track rail on opposite sides of the rail, two bolts extending with clearance through holes in each braking. bar and aligned holes in the rail web in such manner that said braking bars are slidably supported by means of said bolts for movement toward and away from the rail, means for adjustably securing one end of each bolt to the one braking. bar, a fluid pressure m0- tor having a cylinder connected with the other end of each bolt, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder, and a piston rod connected at one end to said piston and adjustably secured at the other end to said second braking bar, the parts being so proportioned that movement of said piston from its retracted to a projected position will move said braking bars from positions in which the braking bars are out of the path of car wheels traversing the track rail to positions in which they will irictionally engage the opposite side faces of each car wheel traversing the track rail.

5. Railway braking apparatus comprising a first and a second braking bar extending parallel to a track rail on opposite sides of the rail, two bolts extending with clearance through holes in each braking bar and aligned holes in the rail web in such manner that said braking bars are slidably supported by means of said bolts for movement toward and away from the rail, means for adjustably securing one end or each bolt to the one braking bar, a fluid pressure motor having a cylinder connected with the other end of each bolt, a piston reciprocablymounted in said cylinder, a piston rod connected at one end to said piston and adjustably secured at the other end to said second braking bar, the parts being so proportioned that movement of said piston from its retracted to a projected position will move said braking bars from positions in which the braking bars are out of the path of car Wheels traversing the rail to positions in which they will frictionally engage the opposite side faces of each car wheel traversing the rail, and a spring in said cylinder for biasing the piston to its retracted position. 6. Railway braking apparatus comprising a first and a second braking bar extending parallel to a track rail on opposite sides of the rail, two bolts extending with clearance through holes in each brakingbar and aligned holes in the rail web in such manner that said braking bars are slidably supported by means of said bolts for movement toward and away from the rail, means for adjustably securing one end of each bolt to the one braking bar, a fluid pressure motor having a cylinder connected with the other end of each bolt, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder, a piston rod connected at one end to said piston and adjustably secured at the other end to said second braking bar, the parts being so proportioned that movement of said piston from its retracted to a projected position will move said braking bars from positions in which they are out of the path of car wheels traversing the track rail to positions in which they will frictionally engage the opposite side faces of each car wheel traversing the track rail, 2. spring in said cylinder for biasing the piston to its retracted position, and means effective when said piston occupies its retracted position for moving the braking bars to predetermined positions relative to said rail.

HAROLD C. CLAUSEN. 

